CNOOC in $1.9b shares buyback

The parent company of CNOOC (0883) has spent nearly HK$1.9 billion to repurchase shares of the listed company while China Evergrande (3333) used nearly HK$227.6 million to increase its stake in China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle (0708).

China National Offshore Oil Corp has acquired a total of 253.88 million ordinary shares of CNOOC in the market, amounting to around 0.57 percent of the total shares of the group, according to the company's announcement yesterday.

Following the acquisition, the parent company's stake in CNOOC has now increased from 64.44 percent to 65.01 percent.

The company gained 2.18 percent to HK$7.50 before the news came out yesterday.

The repurchase came after the Trump administration plans to add CNOOC's parent company to a blacklist of alleged Chinese military companies, escalating tensions with Beijing before President-elect Joe Biden takes office, according to sources familiar with the matter and a document seen by Reuters.

In other news, mainland developer China Evergrande has spent HK$3.01 billion for 107 million shares in its electric vehicles unit since the beginning of this month, data from the Hong Kong stock exchange showed.

The developer's shares in China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle reached 74.72 percent after it repeatedly repurchased shares on the market for the fourth time this month.